Music

AUX does Ottawa Bluesfest: Jon Spencer, LP and Old Man Luedecke

by Mark Teo

After witnessing Solange, Animal Collective, and Killer Mike perform at Ottawa Bluesfest on Wednesday, expectations were running high. But on the following day, we were delivered an evening of completely different programming: Thursday’s offerings were more rock-oriented, offering up rising Warner Music songwriter LP, along with Jon Spencer, and fest faves the Tragically Hip. Here’s how it all went down.

LP. Photo: @desmier04

THE GOOD

LP stole the show. I won’t lie: When folk-pop artist LP, i.e. Laura Pergolizzi, described her new material to us in earlier in the day—she compared it to U2—it sounded like my personal kryptonite. Thankfully, I put those reservations aside and actually watched her set—which was indisputably the day’s best. Testing out an even split from her 2012 breakthrough, the Into the Wild EP, and new material, it wasn’t the frizz-haired troubadour’s presence that was arresting. It was her voice. Striding onto “Into the Wild,” the L.A. songstress flat-out overpowered her bandmates, cycling through old faves like the ever-intense “Tokyo Sunrise,” whose vocals histrionics produced healthy cheers, and new tracks, like “Lost in the World” and “One Last Mistake.” Most charmingly, the crowd was behind her: She was a buzz performer at last year’s Ottawa Folk Fest, and her converts were on hand at Bluesfest, too.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion provided, well, explosive blues. While we’ve pointed out that the Ottawa Bluesfest isn’t a blues fest, don’t state that fact to Jon Spencer. After booking dates at Quebec’s Festival D’Êté and Calgary’s flooded-out Sled Island, Spencer, who bounced around stage in jegging-tight leather pants, sounded positively elated to be in his native environment: He stated that “in 2013, blues are no. 1” repeatedly. He shouted the words “blues explosion” roughly 67 times over the course of his set. (Yes, we counted.) And his songs were dirty, overblown, sloppy, and undeniably bluesy. The trio, who spent the set huddled around the centre of the stage, felt a tad out of place at a massive outdoor festival—they’d be a powerhouse club act, no doubt—but to listeners, their woozy brand of ‘90s-alt-weekly blues provided a dick-punch of sonic diversity. In 2013, the blues may not be no.1, but Spencer—if briefly—had us convinced.

Old Man Luedecke (somehow) filled the Barney Danson Theatre, an indoor venue, to capacity. Then proceeded to charm the living shit out of everyone on hand. Accompanied only by a mandolin, the Halifax banjo dude had the audience—who, if we’re judging by the amount of cheers that occurred with every mention of Nova Scotia, had plenty of maritimers in attendance—in the palm of his hand. He elicited real-deal sing-alongs to songs about a tragic-titled boy named Monsanto Jones, drunken nights at the Marquee Room, and about bacon. (Best line? “If I wrote that song five years later, I could’ve made some money off it. I actually wrote it to alienate all the knitters at my gig. But they thought I was singing about baking, not bacon.”) Spinster living, y’all.

The Hip were The Hip. Is there any quintessentially Can-summer experience than seeing Kingston’s finest play in the open air? There’s a reason, after all, that the Hip are Bluesfest regulars. Last night, though, Downie—who, clad in a vest, tie, and fedora, looked part Stratford Shakespearean, part Muppet, and all Rheostatic—and les gars dug deep, producing hits from every era of their 20-year career. And they entertained: Their set balanced lesser-known tracks with hits, appeasing both Hip dorks and casual fans alike; “New Orleans is Sinking,” “In View,” and “Bobcaygeon” were performed back to back, and surprisingly, it worked. They added variety to spice up old favourites—the best, perhaps, being a noisy guitar passage added to “Ahead By A Century.” And Downie, meanwhile, was uncharacteristically manic, scream-shouting verses near-incoherently—though much of the freckled, lobster-red crowd hardly noticed.

Not that the details matter, of course. At this stage in their career, you could cram 10,000 Canadians—armed with Canadian camper chairs and Leafs jerseys, with “THETRAGICALLYHIP” stitched over the shoulders, which, yes, we saw onsite—and spin a mixed CD of Hip tracks. And, like clockwork, an orgiastic, beer-soaked singalong would ensue. Muskoka chairs would be tossed. The Battle of 1812 would be re-enacted. Ron MacLean would show up wasted and discombobulated, erroneously requesting Blue Rodeo songs. Oh, oh, Canada.

THE BAD

The Bluesfest didn’t match its (admittedly superb) precedent. While all of Thursday’s performance were competent, its rock-centric lineup didn’t match the excitement, or sonic diversity, of previous days. Accordingly, there wasn’t nearly as much urgency; unlike Wednesday, few fans were camped out in front of stages, hoping to reserve spots for A-list acts. Of course, momentary sags in programming are to be expected—the Bluesfest is, after all, a 10-day fest.

Crates of music from Compact. Photo: @compactmusic

THE WTF

There was an on-site vinyl record shop. Local song peddler Compact Music was onsite, and while their selection wasn’t overly deep—they mostly had major independent fare, with an obvious emphasis on the artists performing at the festival—they provided an excellent diversion from the fest’s bustle. The best part: Compact allowed users to buy records and pick them up later, so festgoers could enjoy the performances unencumbered.